Lake Erie Ink would like to invite the community to our Teen Book Release event on May 31, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the B-Side Lounge in Cleveland Heights. The second book of NEO Teen Writing and Art is a collection of creative writing from more than 65 teens across Northeast Ohio and includes an introduction by acclaimed novelist Paula McClain.

The process began 9 months ago, when 11 teens gathered around a table at Lake Erie Ink with one goal. What if we collected work from teens from all over Northeast Ohio to write and draw on a common theme? That theme was “Roots and Branches.”

Lake Erie Ink’s Teen Program Coordinator Cordelia Eddy oversaw the project. “Anyone who is a teen, or ever was a teen, can understand the experience of both wanting to remain true to your roots yet also wanting to explore and branch out,” said Eddy. “The pieces in this anthology explore what it meets to stay rooted, whether it is through family, tradition, or identity. At the same time, they explore what it means to build upon that foundation through new discoveries, identities, passions, relationships and worlds.”

The book was organized by a diverse editorial board made up of local teens and was produced with the help of Belt magazine. The editors shared a passion for helping local teens share their stories and their unique voices. Teen editor Anthony Koonce said his favorite part of the editing process is near the end: “With anticipation at an all-time high, it is very rewarding to see everything coming together.”

Lake Erie Ink is especially grateful to the Callahan Foundation and Nord Family Foundation for specifically supporting this project.

Come and celebrate the voice of youth! For more information, visit lakeerieink.org or call 216-320-4757.

Anthologies will be available in our local bookstores starting June 1.

Instead of hearing the story of one Holocaust survivor, the Fuchs Mizrachi School 10th-grade students in Anna Bolman’s history class were able to speak with seven Holocaust survivors as part of a documentary project for Yom Hashoah.

“Everyone knows about the Holocaust, everyone has the ability to learn about the Holocaust but to really study it in-depth and to hear from the people, I think the students were stunned by some of the stories,” said Bolman, a University Heights resident. “I think they were really impacted by hearing it in a very intimate way.”

The students were broken into small groups and had learned the survivors’ stories while asking questions. Bolman let the students find their own voice for their documentaries, but told them to ask each survivor what the next generation’s responsibility is to the legacy of the Holocaust, which is answered in the 12 documentaries that will be shown April 12 during the school’s Yom Hashoah program.

“It was impressive to the students that (the survivors) want to share their stories, they want their stories to be heard because every time their stories are heard, they can help,” she said.

When the school received a grant in summer 2017 from the Facing History and Ourselves’ Jewish Education Department Center in Boston, it allowed Bolman to create a more modern curriculum for her class. With a documentary project, Bolman said she was able to combine a new way to learn the content while still giving the students a modern understanding.

“It’s always about the content that we’re learning and what’s important to learn and the deeper messages,” she said. “But it’s also (about) what skills are being taught at the same time. Being able to learn new technology, I thought, was an amazing skill to have.”

With the grant, Bolman hired a professional documentary filmmaker to teach videorecording and editing skills along with Lake Erie Ink, a creative writing organization in Cleveland Heights, to teach how to write scripts. The films range from six to 20 minutes and took close to two months to complete.

“Thursday is really a testament to what (the students) created on their own,” Bolman said.

April is National Poetry Month, an annual celebration of poetry spearheaded by the Academy of American Poets that celebrates poetry’s vital place in our culture.

We invite youth ages 8-15 to celebrate National Poetry Month with Lake Erie Ink this April, and let art be your inspiration. Lake Erie Ink, together with the Cleveland Museum of Art, will be hosting a youth poetry workshop exploring ekphrastic poetry, a poetic form where poetry responds to visual art.

During the workshop, youth will take a poetic journey through the Cleveland Museum of Art. Receiving guidance on finding inspiration in an artwork and construct poems in the ekphrastic tradition, youth will create poems that will be placed by the artwork that inspired it for other museumgoers to respond and add to throughout the day.

This workshop is part of Lake Erie Ink’s Weekend Ink workshop series and takes place Saturday, April 21 from 10:30am-12:30pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The $5 workshop fee will be accepted at the door.

Lake Erie Ink inspires youth writers to find their voice and craft their stories, and we are excited to announce an opportunity for teenagers to learn about the craft of writing from those who do it best at our upcoming Teen Writers Symposium.

At the symposium, teens in grades 6-12 will explore the art of writing in various genres at this Weekend Ink workshop on Saturday, May 5 from 1:00 – 3:30 pm. Held at Loganberry Books at 13015 Larchmere Blvd. in Shaker Heights, this event is a chance for teens from all over the greater Cleveland area to meet local authors, get inspired, and experiment with new writing techniques.

Admission is $10 with scholarships available. This event is funded in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. For more information and to register, visit www.lakeerieink.org or call 216-320-4757.

Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide creative expression opportunities and academic support to youth in the Greater Cleveland community.

Lake Erie Ink is a member of Greater Cleveland Community Shares. Community Shares supports local nonprofit organizations working for long-term, sustainable solutions to build a stronger Cleveland. Learn more about Community Shares and supporting social justice through workplace giving at www.communityshares.org

Lake Erie Ink will be hosting its 6th Annual Kids’ Comic Con Saturday, March 17, 2017 from 9:30am-3pm. At this all day event, youth of all ages will have the chance to attend workshops with well-known comic creators. Workshops will cover both aspects of comic creation – drawing and writing – as well as the ever-popular “create your own comic character in clay.”

Lake Erie Ink is excited to welcome (or welcome back!) the following guest artists and writers to this year’s Kids’ Comic Con:

Doors open at 9:30am, and workshops begin at 10am. Costumes are encouraged! Admission is $10 at the door, and scholarships are available. Lunch will be sold on-site or kids may bring their own. Comics, graphic novels and t-shirts will be for sale. Adults are welcome if accompanied by a child; teachers are welcome with a staff ID. Register at lakeerieink.org/register or by calling 216-320-4757.

Last year, this one-of-a-kind comic convention for young writers and artists drew nearly 150 kids and teens from all across Northeast Ohio.

Enter Lake Erie Ink’s haiku contest to win a cash prize! As part of our sixth annual Giant Bananagrams Tournament, we are hosting a haiku contest. Haikus can be entered into one of three categories: most banana-themes, most-classical, or most unique. There will be guest judges for each category. The contest is open to all ages. Winners will be announced at our GIANT Bananagrams tournament on February 24, but you do not need to be present to win.

Entries are unlimited, and each entry costs $5. Payments should be made by cash or checks made out to Lake Erie Ink. Entries and fees must be submitted to the Lake Erie Ink office by 3pm on February 22. All proceed benefit Lake Erie Ink.

Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth presents “The Lyrical Story: Finding Rhythm in Words” workshop featuring musician and writer Afi Scruggs. Scruggs is a female bass guitarist who tells her story through sound. As lover of music, she also plays piano/keyboards, mandolin, autoharp and some guitar. By trade she’s a journalist and digital storyteller, and as a musician she is rockin’ out to jazz, Latin and funk.

Join Afi Scruggs and Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth on Saturday, February 17 for a songwriting workshop for youth of all ages. During this workshop, youth will learn the basics of songwriting and will write lyrics to ballads of their very own.

This workshop is for youth of all ages and takes place at the Heights Music Shop at 2174 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights on Saturday, February 17 from 10:30-12:30pm. The cost is $5 at the door. Interested young songwriters can register at lakeerieink.org/register or call 216-320-4757.

The workshop is part of Lake Erie Ink’s Weekend Ink creative expression series, which introduces youth to professional artists and writers.

Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth and Dobama Theatre are coming together to inspire youth from our community to put their playwriting skills to the test. On January 20 and 27, youth will work with playwright Lisa Langford to write their very own play. A member of Dobama Theatre’s Playwrights’ GYM, Langford’s plays have been performed at Cleveland Public Theater and convergence-continuum. A graduate of Harvard University, Langford has acted in television and film, as well as Off-Broadway, regionally, and locally.

During this two-part workshop, youth will write, read and revise their plays for submission to the Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival. The festival accepts original play submissions from 1st-12th graders from Cuyahoga County, and the winning plays are then transformed into performances, with costumes, props and all, at the summer festival.

The “Stage Write: Youth Playwriting Workshop” takes place at Dobama Theatre on January 20 and 27 from 10:30-12:30pm. The cost is $5 at the door. Interested young playwrights can register online. The workshop is part of Lake Erie Ink’s Weekend Ink creative expression series, which introduces youth of all ages to professional artists and writers.

Upcoming Events

Celebrate the work of greater Cleveland teens whose writing and art will be published in “Roots and Branches,” the newest publication of our teen editorial board. Join us on Thursday, May 31st from 6:30-8:30pm for the celebration,[...]

At this camp, aspiring music journalists in grades 9-12 will go through an accelerated, rigorous process from concept to finished piece of music journalism. The sessions will place a strong emphasis on developing critical thinking[...]

Welcome to story-building camp! At this hands-on camp, youth in grades 2-5 will dive into storytelling through the paper arts. Campers will transform raw materials into masterfully crafted, one-of-a-kind books and fill the pages with[...]